The Koobface virus started to infect users from social-networking website Facebook. The virus spreads through private messages. According to Barry Schmitt, Facebook representative, the worm’s code isn’t new, as it was released on the web in August, this year, but this time it was programmed to infect only Facebook users.

Here is the way the virus acts, according to the McAffe Advert Labs. The messages transmitted by Koobface contain subjects like “You look funny in this new video”. After opening the message, users are shown a link which leads them to a website containing a video file. This website informs them that they have to download an update of Adobe Flash in order to watch the movie, prompting them to download a file named “flash_player.exe”. The file itself contains the worm which will spread through your friends’ mailboxes in Facebook.

Not only the virus will spread itself through infected users’ accounts, but there are chances that it will record data from web searches and redirect users to other, potentially malignant websites. Also, according to Craig Schmugar, threat researcher at McAfee Advert Labs, it is possible that the virus could also install other potentially dangerous applications at any time.

Facebook representatives report that only a small number of users were affected by the virus and they are updating security systems and verifying infected accounts in order to remove the infection and stop it from reaching other users.

More than that, Facebook has posted step-by-step instructions on removing the virus. Even so, users are recommended to have their antivirus clients updated and to be very suspicious whenever they receive an attachment, both in their email or Facebook accounts.